Varnish analysis: shining examples

For the past 300 years, one of the most hotly debated subjects in lutherie circles has been the composition of varnishes used by the master makers. Until very recently it had been virtually impossible to identify the various materials, as well as the luthiers’ techniques of applying varnish to the wood surface. The methods used to characterise such complex systems normally require both non-invasive and micro-invasive analytical techniques, to identify the substances and to understand how they are stratified. Recent research based at the University of Pavia’s Arvedi Laboratory of Non-Invasive Diagnostics, housed in Cremona’s Museo del Violino, has made significant headway in this regard. The research team utilised six large fragments of bowed stringed instruments, all of which had been removed during past restorations. Each has been attributed to an important violin maker…